Cardi B Refused to Play the Super Bowl Halftime Show to Protest the NFL's Treatment of Colin Kaepernick

"I got to sacrifice a lot of money to perform. But there's a man who sacrificed his job for us, so we got to stand behind him."

Playing the Super Bowl LII halftime show would have been a huge achievement in Cardi B's rapid ascent, coming not even two years after her first number one hit. Unfortunately for the NFL, and, well, or everyone, it's not to be. In an interview with the Associated Press that came out late Friday, the rapper revealed that she'd been offered the show but ultimately turned it down, largely because of the league's treatment of Colin Kaepernick.

The Grammy-nominated rapper told The Associated Press on Friday evening that she had "mixed feelings" after she declined to take the stage at Super Bowl 53 in Atlanta. She said it was a hard decision since her husband, rapper Offset, loves to watch football, but she felt obligated to "stand behind" Kaepernick because he "stood up" for minorities.

"My husband, he loves football. His kids play football. It's really hard for him. ... He really wants to go to the Super Bowl, but he can't go to the Super Bowl, because he's got to stand for something," said Cardi B, who is nominated for five Grammys. She is competing for both album and record of the year.

"You have to sacrifice that," she added. "I got to sacrifice a lot of money to perform. But there's a man who sacrificed his job for us, so we got to stand behind him."

Kaepernick is currently suing the NFL for colluding to keep him from being signed to a team in order to appease Donald Trump.

Cardi B isn't the first artist to opt out of the 2019 halftime show: Rihanna reportedly did as well, and Amy Schumer also announced that she wouldn't appear in a planned Super Bowl commercial. Currently, the show will be performed by Maroon 5, Travis Scott, and, allegedly, SpongeBob SquarePants.